‘Rail roko’ protest: Farmers squat on rail tracks in Punjab

Chandigarh: Farmers on Sunday squatted on railway tracks at many places in Punjab as part of a ‘rail roko’ protest called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP).

Farmers raised slogans against the Centre for not accepting their demands.

Because of the disruption of train services, passengers will experience inconvenience. The protest will be held from 12 noon till 4 pm.

In Punjab, farmers had announced that they would sit on railway tracks at 52 locations in 22 districts, including Amritsar, Ludhiana, Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur, Firozpur, Fazilka, Sangrur, Mansa, Moga and Bathinda.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher asked people to join the protest in large numbers.

Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), BKU (Dakaunda-Dhaner) and Krantikari Kisan Union, farmer bodies which are part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, are also participating in the ‘rail roko’ agitation.

The SKM, which had spearheaded the farmers’ 2020-21 agitation, is not part of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest but has extended its support to the ongoing farmers’ agitation at Shambhu and Khanauri points on the Punjab-Haryana border.

The SKM (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mukti Morcha are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press the government to accept their demands.

Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.

The protesting farmers from Punjab have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13, when security forces stopped them from marching towards Delhi.

The farmer leaders have rejected the Centre’s proposal for procurement of pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in farmers’ favour.